


Sad Hats and Black Cats

by littleangels



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, One Shot, ish like it's mentioned, sadrien sadgreste strikes again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:44:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7587397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleangels/pseuds/littleangels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“And you’re absolutely sure that you’re fine…?”</p><p>Adrien nodded. “I’m pawsitive.”</p><p>Marinette still looked unconvinced. “Your heart’s not in the pun.”</p><p>“Is that really a legitimate reason to say I’m feeling down?”</p><p>“Well, there’s that and your sad hat.”</p><p>“I’m not… I’m not sad, Marinette. Will you please stop being so stubborn about it? I’m fine.”</p><p>“Look,” she began, “I know we aren’t as close as we used to be, but I’m your friend, Adrien. I’m one of your best friends. You can tell me if something happened. You know that, right?” She placed her hand on top of his. “I’m here for you.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sad Hats and Black Cats

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this AU: 
> 
> “We have a lot of mutual friends so we see each other more than two broken up people usually do and I know we’re not really close anymore but you’re wearing that stupid (adorable) hat you always wore when you were upset so tell me what’s wrong because it’s literally killing me to see you look so sad”
> 
> \---
> 
> also: sadrien sadgreste strikes again

Three months, five days, two hours, and twenty-seven minutes.

Not that Marinette was counting up the exact amount of time since she had broken up with Adrien. She did no such thing! He was over her, and she was over him. That was that.

To be honest, Marinette thought that their breakup went fairly smoothly; it was mutual, and they both realized that there was just too many things going on. Between jobs and college and studying, there was hardly any time to spend together as a couple, and so they called it quits.

But apparently, “calling it quits” didn’t mean “not seeing each other” anymore. Adrien and Marinette still saw each other. Frequently. Nearly every day, in fact.

(Somehow, Marinette felt that Alya still kept trying to set her up with Adrien, but her mind was set. There was no way that she would get back together with him when she has a gigantic workload and piles of homework. )

So it was no surprise that Alya’s invitation to some morning coffee ended up with four people sitting at a table: Alya sat next to Marinette, and across from them, Nino and Adrien sat.

“… and this girl tries to _copy_ my article and pass it off as hers,” Alya explained, “but obviously the editor-in-chief isn’t stupid, and she got fired right away.” She took a sip of her coffee. “So what else is new with you guys? I already know all the deets on Nino’s end—”

Nino held up finger guns. “I have a sweet gig DJing at weekend parties over at the club a couple blocks down,” he said with a wink.

“—so how about you guys? Mari? How’s your job at that boutique?”

“Lucky for me, the hours work with my schedule,” Marinette replied. “And it’s actually really nice! The outfits they have there are cute, and having an employee discount isn’t too shabby either.”

“Any crazy stories? Customers giving you a problem?”

Marinette shook her head at Alya. “ _Classic_ ,” she scoffed, but she was trying her best to hide a smile. “Always looking for drama.”

Alya laughed. “What can I say? It’s part of the job?”

Nino bumped shoulders with Adrien. “How ‘bout you, dude?” he asked. “How’s the face of _Vogue_ doing these days?”

Adrien shrugged and managed a small smile. “Same old, same old,” Adrien said. His smile grew tight around the edges. “My dad’s still having me do all these showcases for him. Not that I’m complaining, though. It… keeps me busy.”

There was something distant about his voice that Marinette didn’t like.

It could have easily been Marinette’s wild imagination, but she could have sworn she saw Adrien’s smile slip into an unhappy frown. It was hard to tell, seeing as he was a model and therefore very skilled at hiding facial expressions, but Marinette knew better.  

He was also wearing what Marinette has dubbed as “the sad hat,” which was a black cat beanie he wore when he felt down. Adrien would surely deny that he did such a thing, but Marinette knew him like the back of her hand. She had made him that hat back when they were dating, and she vividly remembered how he would often wear it whenever he got into an argument with his dad.

“You made it,” Adrien told her when she had asked him about it. He was sleepy and tired back then, but somehow, Marinette had coaxed an explanation out of him. “And… Thinking of you just makes me feel less sad.”

Before Marinette could even say something in reply, he had fallen asleep on her lap.

(Of course, Adrien had completely forgotten about it the next morning, but Marinette remembered. She remembered a lot of things about him; more than she would care to admit.)

Nino must have sensed something was off, too. He threw a glance at Alya and stood up. “Babe, I’m gonna grab some bottled water,” he said. “Need anything?”

“Actually, I do,” she answered. “Some scones would be great to munch on right about now, actually.” Alya looked over at the duo. “Do, um, you guys need anything?”

“Thanks, but I’m good.” Adrien looked over at Marinette. “Did you want anything, Mari?”

“I’m good for now.” She waved off Alya and Nino, who very slowly walked towards the register, arms hooked together.

Marinette watched as they went off, not-so-discreetly whispering to each other about something or the other.

She turned her gaze back to Adrien and smiled. “How’ve you been lately?” she asked him. “You know, pushing all your modeling stuff aside.”

“Fine. I guess.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

Marinette eyed him suspiciously. “Well, you’re being awfully quiet,” she remarked. “There should have been at least twenty cat puns by now.” She glanced at his hat. “You know. Since you’re wearing a cat hat and all.”

“It’s comfy,” he reasoned. “And I’m just really tired, that’s all.”

“If you say so.” Marinette shrugged. “But you would _definitely_ tell me if you were feeling down for any reason at all, right?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, you _are_ wearing the sad hat.”

“I do _not_ have a sad hat,” Adrien defended. “And I’m fine. I just… I really like this hat.” He tugged at the edges, rubbing his thumb over the cursive ‘M’ that Marinette signed all her pieces with.

“And you’re absolutely _sure_ that you’re fine…?”

Adrien nodded. “I’m _paw_ sitive.”

Marinette still looked unconvinced. “Your heart’s not in the pun.”

“Is that really a legitimate reason to say I’m feeling down?”

“Well, there’s that and your sad hat.”

“I’m not… I’m not sad, Marinette. Will you please stop being so stubborn about it? I’m _fine_.”

“Look,” she began, “I know we aren’t as close as we used to be, but I’m your friend, Adrien. I’m one of your best friends. You can tell me if something happened. You know that, right?” She placed her hand on top of his. “I’m here for you.”

(There was an ache in Marinette’s chest, and she realized how much she missed this. She missed being close to him, missed holding his hand when he was down, missed staying up all night with him. But as much as she missed him, there were more important things to focus on. She would always, _always_ be there for him as a friend first, no matter what.)

She feels his hand move under hers, and she gives his hand a tight squeeze before letting go.

“Just call me if anything comes up, okay?” Marinette added. “Even if it’s the middle of the night, I promise to listen to absolutely everything.” For good measure, Marinette drew a cross over her heart with a finger.

“Got it.” Adrien smiled. It was a small, sad smile, but Marinette was willing to take whatever she could get. “Thanks, Mari.”

She smiled, too. “No problem.”

— ☔ —

Adrien had no idea what he was doing. The first thing on his mind was to get away, _away_. He had no idea where exactly “away” was, but he found himself in front of Marinette’s apartment at two in the morning, three days after they last talked.

 _I should have called_ , he thought. His fist is hovering a few inches from the door, and his heart is pounding away in his rib cage. _I bet she’s asleep, and I’ll end up bothering her. What was I thinking?_

He’s about to turn back— _This was a mistake_ , he told himself—when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

> **From:** Marinette  
>  **To:** Adrien

> _Hey, are you okay?_

Adrien felt his heart ache as soon as he saw her message. It was weird, the way they always knew there was something wrong when it came to one another.

(It made Adrien miss Marinette even more.)

He dialed her number and was surprised when she picked up straightaway.

“Adrien?!” Her voice was full of concern. “What’s wrong? Did something happen? Are you okay?”

“I, um.” Adrien wasn’t sure what to say. He came here on impulse, after all, and there were a lot of scrambled thoughts floating through his head. “I… I’m sort of… outside your apartment.”

“What?!” He heard something fall, followed by shuffling footsteps. A second later, Marinette was holding her door wide open. “Adrien Agreste, you’re an idiot, you know that? Calling all of a sudden when you’re outside my apartment!”

“I’m sorry, Mari.” He didn’t know what else to say. He decided to look down at the floor.

“Don’t be.” Marinette suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

(Adrien forgot how good it felt to be hugged.)

He returned her embrace and buried his head in her hair. It was the first time he had felt warmth all day.

“You wanna come inside and talk?” she asked softly.

He nodded.

Marinette pulled away to look at him and gave him a dazzling smile. “I’ll warm up a plate of cookies, okay? Then we’ll talk.”

She lead him by the hand, inside her apartment, and he trailed after her like a lost puppy.

(He’s thankful that she didn’t let go.)

— ☔ —

Adrien hadn’t been in her apartment for a long time. It still smelled the same—Marinette _adored_ the smell of cosmos and had bought a similar-smelling air freshener—and remained slightly unkempt with fabrics and designs strewn over the dining table and the coffee table.

He missed coming over here, missed hearing Marinette ramble on and on about her designs, missed Marinette running down the hall to see him when she’s done something brilliant with a design.

“Sorry for the mess,” she muttered. “There’s a big project at school and… Well, you know.”

“I don’t mind,” Adrien said. There was an aching fondness in his voice. “It’s so… _you_.”

Marinette stopped in her tracks to stare at him. Her expression was hard to read, but if Adrien had to guess, she looked surprised and melancholy.

“I… Thanks.” She quickly turned away and scrambled to stack together the papers cluttered on the coffee table, quickly putting them aside. “I’ll, um, get those cookies warmed up, yeah?”

Not only did Marinette warm up cookies—heavenly, _heavenly_ smelling cookies, might Adrien add—she also grabbed some blankets from the linen closet and sat right next to him on the couch.

Adrien thought she looked adorable, the way she wrapped herself up in a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate in her hands.

“There’s a cup for you, too,” she added. “So what did you want to talk about?”

He got a lot of things off his chest that day: His problems with his dad, wanting to quit modeling, missing his mom… Talking to Marinette was easy. She was a good listener, and she offered advice when he needed it.

It was five in the morning now, and Marinette was fast asleep. While her head was leaning on his shoulder, he couldn’t help but admire her adorable sleeping face and how she almost always slept with a faint smile tugging at her lips.

He couldn’t help but smile, too.

He missed this, missed their late night conversations, missed staying up until the early hours of morning just _talking_ and _laughing_ , missed seeing her smile and hearing her laugh at the end of a long day, and, god, did he miss Marinette.

“Hey, Mari?” Adrien asked softly, gently brushing her bangs from her face. “I know you’re asleep, and I know you can’t hear me, but… I miss this.” He pulled his hand away and stared at her ceiling. “I miss us,” he added. “I miss you.”

Adrien paused. “I think…,” he began. “I think I still love you.” His heart ached just saying those words out loud. _I love you, I love you, I love you_.

— ☔ —

Marinette was usually a deep sleeper, but she was never much of a dreamer.

She’s well aware of how easily she could set Adrien’s voice out of a crowd—her feeling for him ran quite deep—but his voice came to her in a dream, so clearly, so vividly. It was almost like she could reach out and touch him, and he would be there with his brilliant smile.

But there was no way… Adrien must have left by now, right? He must be tired, coming all the way to her apartment in the middle of the night—

_I still love you._

Did… did she hear what she thought she heard?

 _I love you, I love you, I love you_.

Marinette wasn’t sure whether it was all a dream or not. She wasn’t sure whether she really felt his warm hand sweep her bangs out of her face, wasn’t sure whether she really heard his voice, but there was one thing she was absolutely certain of.

She wasn’t sure if he could hear her, but four little words escaped her mouth before she could stop them:

“I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! I haven't written something in such a long time, so I feel a little rusty. Leave a kudos and comment <333


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